Graphic: The top 10 U.S. cities for private tech M&A

Silicon Valley remains well in the lead when it comes to acquisitions of private tech companies.

Well, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that the San Francisco Bay Area ranks on top when it comes to acquisitions of privately-held tech companies. But what’s amazing is just how far out in front the Bay Area is.

At 226 M&A deals in 2012, the Bay Area saw nearly as many private tech companies acquired as the rest of the top five metro areas combined, according to a new report out by PrivCo.

That includes the Seattle area, which placed fifth with 43 deals. Others in the top five included New York (100 deals); Boston (62 deals); and LA (55 deals). Historically strong tech centers such as San Diego and the Research Triangle in North Carolina fell off the list.